common method of distributing patches and source updates in the
Unix/C world. 3. /v./ To compare (whether or not by use of
automated
tools on machine-readable files); see also {vdiff}, {mod}.

:digit: /n./ An employee of Digital Equipment Corporation. See
also {VAX}, {VMS}, {PDP-10}, {{TOPS-10}}, {DEChead},
{double DECkers}, {field circus}.

:dike: /vt./ To remove or disable a portion of something, as a
wire from a computer or a subroutine from a program. A standard
slogan is "When in doubt, dike it out". (The implication is that
it is usually more effective to attack software problems by
reducing complexity than by increasing it.) The word `dikes' is
widely used among mechanics and engineers to mean `diagonal
cutters', esp. the heavy-duty metal-cutting version, but may also
refer to a kind of wire-cutters used by electronics techs. To
`dike something out' means to use such cutters to remove
something. Indeed, the TMRC Dictionary defined dike as "to attack
with dikes". Among hackers this term has been metaphorically
extended to informational objects such as sections of code.

:Dilbert: /n./ Name and title character of a comic strip
nationally syndicated in the U.S. and enormously popular among
hackers. Dilbert is an archetypical engineer-nerd who works at an
anonymous high-technology company; the strips present a lacerating
satire of insane working conditions and idiotic {management}
practices all too readily recognized by hackers. Adams, who spent
nine years in {cube} 4S700R at Pacific Bell (not {DEC} as often
reported), often remarks that he has never been able to come up